WE ARE HOME!!!

It happened all too quick, but we are so blessed with a very speedy return to the US. I want to thank all of you who have been keeping up with us and I am going to finally slowly but surely post the pictures I have been wanting too for the last month. I will write more of our rapid/lucky journey home later. Alejandra is doing very well. Every day is a little bit better and we are all learning. We are thrilled to be a family again!!! Ok, got to run!! More later!! Thank you for all of your prayers, thoughts and wishes, that is what truly got us home!!!! Sincerely, Janet

Bright Sunday!!

I am almost scared to say but today was by far the best Alejandra and I have spent together. I think, but am really tentative to write it, I think we may have turned a major communication corner. Not that my spanish has improved any at all in the last 24 hours but it seems like she is getting the idea of "using her words" instead of temper tantrums or attitude to tell me what she wants. We started the day out practicing some letter writing in a coloring book I brought down. It is evident she has NEVER practiced any form of letter or number writing but she is very receptive to learning. Much more than Rachael ever was at this age or even now! After that we hung out for a bit and made a journey into town to the Bodengona (shopping market) to get some much needed laundry detergent. On the way back we stopped for coffee and snack at the central park and then headed home. Later I had planned for us to meet some friends at the pool, which is quite a long walk. When I got the stroller out again, she said, NO, yo quiero caminar! "I want to walk"...well OK, and we walked 3/4 the way until I flagged a Tuk Tuk trying to head off impending fatigue. At the pool, our friends didn't show but she was happy as a clam playing with me and doing her near drowning activities. We then had lunch and I was sweating on how to get her to mabe play on the little adjoining park so I wouldn't have to get back in the pool. Unbelievably, she agreed to go change, shower (I was so excited because at the hotel swimming pool locker room is my one chance per week to get a really good hot shower!!) and then go to the park! It worked like a charm. We then started walking back and she was a real trooper. I know she was tired and at one point she sighed and sat down and said "descansa?" (can we rest?), not to compare but this was a refreshing change from a meltdown or a typical Rachael moaning/crying "I just can't go on anymore". So we rested and then walked a little more. I flagged another Tuk Tuk and we then spent the rest of the afternoon evening at my friend Patricia's house. One of the big switches today was she wanted me happily to do almost everthing with her. Yes, this is a little exhausting, but she really seemed to want "my" company instead of tolerating me just because I am the mean old Momi and someone who just wont go away. I wasn't on edge all day waiting for her to meltdown or get angry. So, yes, a huge difference in one week alone together. I do remain a little guarded as I know we will go through many many transitions. I attribute today to the thousands of prayers, and positive thoughts all of our friends and family are sending us. I am not doing this alone. It is because of my faith and the faith of so many loved ones we have. Just when I think I can't hardly do this anymore, I receive a day like today. Thank you!

The Aurora Zoo

Yesterday, we went for a big trip into the city to see the Zoo with some friends. We invited Ruth, her daughter Lesbia and her grand child, Myellie. My good friend Patricia, her mom, and her three children went as well. We started the day with Ruth and family arriving in a Tuk Tuk, then we all walked to Patricia's. The van was waiting and for the first time ever for me in Guatemala, it was a female driver and her lovely daughter Rana. The vans are like mini VW buses with two bench rows and extended fold out seats on each row. The trip in was fairly quick no real traffic. I had never driven with such a cautious driver here. Usually, you wonder how many autowrecks you avoided on your journey or how many you may have created. But Rebecca our driver drove with the utmost of care, a nice change of pace. Once at the Zoo, priorities first, bathrooms and Pollo Campero for lunch! If I had'nt already posted Pollo Camero is the nation's craving. It is similiar to Kentucy Fried Chicken but different. It is ok. People here say it absolutely grows on you but this is my first time ever having a piece other than a bite of someone else's. Fully fueled on Guatemalan's fast food finest we entered the park. Much to my surprise it was a very open airy Zoo. Safety is not a huge concern in Guatemala so there weren't any high fences or walls really. Mainly, there were water motes (sp?) to keep you from the animals. Therefore the animals seemed very close. The main attractions for me were a male lion with the biggest mane I have ever seen; a white peacock; two beautiful jaguars; an elephant that walked on a 6 inch curb (width) 10 ft high above a mote; the monkeys (can't remember the type, but very entertaining); a completely scary python that must have just eaten a small goat, he was huge!; and the little rides that the kids and adults went on. OK, more on that. For all my friends back home, you can picture the little scary rides they set up in front of K-mart? The Zoo had something similiar but of course even less safe if that is possible. But Jacilyn (Patricia's 7 yr old) was an expert there so she took Alejandra directly onto the scarriest little roller coaster and Alejandra loved it. Next thing you know she rode it again, then with Ruth, then Patricia and her kids, then Lesbia and her 15 month old!!!! I graciously decided to watch the strollers, camera's ect!! (there are no height or age restrictions when riding these things). After that it had pretty much been a full day and we strolled back out to where the van was waiting. The trip back was about 2 hours because of traffic. Once we were back it was dinner and lights out!! Alejandra did well for the day. Only a few bouts of attitude. She loved all the animals. It was the first time that I felt like she knew who Momi was and I was not just another care giver to her. It wasn't that she was super affectionate or incredibly happy that I was there, it was just that she knew who to look to to show me certain animals or what to do, when to do. Today, will be the first time I have been to the pool with her alone. In the past she has issues with first arriving, being asked not to do certain things (that are dangerous) ect. So today will be another good test of how we are doing. Overall, I think we are continuing to make baby baby steps, although compared to a week ago, when I really look back she has made huge gains. Last Sunday is what I call Black Sunday, when Grant and Rachael left. We will see what today brings!!! Tomorrow afternoon we find out when our Visa appt is set. Right now they are setting them into June (ugh). So all the prayers and positive thoughts are welcome and much appreciated as we would love to get home earlier! Janet

What goes around, goes around!

A quick post as I am too tired today to keep my eyes open, however, this was worth writing down. If ONLY I could post the picctures!!! Today, we started out with our normal routine. I now have Alejandra hooked on smoothies. She thinks she gets ice cream for breakfast. No wonder she is a dream in the morning! After lunch today as we were hanging out with Ruth, Alejandra starts telling Ruth that her "munecas" (dolls-barbies) are showing bad behavior (portate mal!) So as I am listening, I tell her well, you should put them in the time out chair. She grinned from ear to ear, set up two chairs, gave them a lecture and then I pretended to be a voice from the dolls..."I am sorry Momi" which she made them repeat and then they were free to play. It was a crack up and because Alejandra is now an expert in the time out chair, she passed it right on!!! Ruth just stood there laughed and shook her head. In reality, I think it has been two days since Alejandra actually had to sit there. We are now cutting off the meltdowns with just a few words. Ok, I have to sleep!! More this weekend. We are making a big trip to the Zoo on Saturday with some friends. I invited Ruth and her grand daughter to join us. Should be fun!! Thanks for continuing to think of us and check in!!

Communication is Key!

It takes a village but I think we are making a lot of progress in just three days!! Today was even better than yesterday as far as minimal meltdowns. I would like to take responsibility but I can’t. Alejandra is responding to reasoning and lack of attention during her melt downs. Today during both brief episodes either Ruth or my Spanish instructor were here to back me up on telling her that she needs to behave and be polite. They are able to say things to her that I can’t, even the most simplest reasoning. Hearing it from another adult helps anyway. So what would have been major drama was 3 minutes of me clinching my jaw wondering what would happen. And luckily, all was well. She went to her little preschool in the morning for two hours which she LOVES. The rest of the day was with me ( arts and crafts, 500 books, stroll around town trying to download docs for the embassy) until this evening we hung out with friends for about and hour. Bed time routine is amazingly easy. She seems very eager to have this routine and go to bed. Lots of hugs and kisses today and just smiling eyes were a huge reward. She is very eager to learn counting and writing her name. She truly has an engineers mind. She has to figure it out herself and do it herself. The other key is structure. I think she craves it, so now our days are divided up into little blocks of time. On the paperwork front, we were submitted to the embassy today and the big question is..will they issue Pink Appt. in 48 or 72 hours? I keep hearing conflicting reports. I will count on 72 and then some probably. So onward!!! Thanks for all of your many prayers and thoughts…it is definitely working!!! Antigua is truly a simple life. I don't really know the stats but the town is very small. It takes me about 20-25 minutes to get to the other side, walking of course. I like walking everywhere..to the market, to get coffee, to run to the bank. All of the streets are either a rough cobblestone type or a very broken concrete or dirt. The jogging stroller I bought from the woman before me is remarkable. I think I am atleast the third generation and that thing is TOUGH. We have been over everything in it!! The people here are all very nice and seem to enjoy having foreigners in their town. Ruth rides her bike down a huge and very steep, rutty dirt road from a neighboring town to get here. Her bike must weigh about 50lbs with no gears, going up is home is all up hill. She arrives immaculate everyday with a huge smile, willing to help in any way she can. She lives with her husband, daughter and son. Her other daughter lives in Antigua with her husband and the first grandchild, Myelli (Michelle). Every Sunday they have lunch together, her husband has lived all his life here and his family before him ect. They are incredible people making a lovely life out of practically nothing material. They have two parrots, three dogs and two cats. Lunch with them last Sunday was a very special treat. We looked through family photo albums, talked about the families she has worked for ect. Ruth's youngest daughter spoke very good english so we talked for most of the time. I just absolutely admire Ruth and how she lives, her values, character and incredible work ethic. This time has been an experience I could have never imagined and it continues to open my eyes to things I have been too busy in my own life to see. Ok, enough rambling (too much caffine tonight). More to come!!

Que Buena Chica!

Early Sunday morning, 3:30 am to be exact, Grant had to leave and we loaded a sleeping Rachael into the car with him. Little did she know that she was headed back home. We made the decision late Saturday night that both girls 4 and 5 would be too much for me. Alejandra was starting to show some not so great behavior and that compounded with Racheal's " too exhausted to speak" meltdowns, we decided to nip disaster in the you know what and call it a day. It was a really tough decision but the right thing to do so I could focus on Alejandra and basically institute a mini boot camp on proper behavior and respect for adults and others. So after trying to hide sobbing all morning on Mothers day from Alejandra we went through our first day alone together...and boy was it a marathon! Whether she was coping with Papi and Sissy being gone, having to spend one on one time with mean old Momi (who tows a strict line) or everything in between, I wasn't quite sure which one of us would survive the day! Whew! So we started day two together not much different. However, low and behold after the second horrendous meltdown she came around and we had a blast for the rest of the day. Granted we did not stop playing, going to the parque, meeting friends for dinner and running home trying to beat the dark in the rain....regardless we did it!! And both go to bed with a smile on our faces!! Who knows what tomorrow will bring but atleast we had today without constantly going head to head!! On other news...we (not surprisingly) did not get submitted for Pink today, supposedly we will be "first" tomorrow. This pretty much blows the entire week for anymore progress, so I am already looking to next week to see what can be done. Oh well, more bonding time for Sissy and Momi!! Hope everyone's week starts out right!! More on lunch at Ruth's house tomorrow!

Passport down, Pink to Go!

We were able to get Alejandra's passport today and now will be able to submit our paperwork to the embassy on Monday. Alejandra enjoyed her trip to the city with Papi. Rachael and I stayed behind and hung out with Ruth most of the day. Tonight's bedtime routine was flip flopped from last night with Alejandra melting down but we know both girls were exhausted and in the end they end up going to sleep so such is life. Drugs are good, because I feel like a real person again after being on antibiotics for 24 hours! I might even be able to sleep tonight with my head in a semi-horizontal position! Have a great weekend! We will be breaking the news to Alejandra that Papi must return home, so that will be tough, but there is strength in prayer and you better believe I will be on my knees tomorrow night!!!